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#Post#: 2378--------------------------------------------------
A Search for the Erie Canal of Yesterday... guess what we found?
DIR By: Doug K
Date: February 17, 2023, 11:37 am
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As many may have seen, there's been a noted lull in posting on
our Forum...very busy times at the ECNA these days.
We are still waiting on word when & where the next Erie Canal
Embankment clearing will take place, now that the EEIP program
has finished the Embankment Manual and State Environmental
Review. Long overdue.
Our contact with the Canal Corporation has come to an end, seems
we don't see eye to eye on what matters most to Erie Canal
Neighbors.
We believe that public "safety related" projects should be a
PRIORITY and run without delay... no excuses, which is all the
Canal Corporation has these days... excuses.
The NYS Canal Conglomerate, believe that appeasing social media
dissent should be first on the list, before fixing unsafe, high
hazard, aging earthen dams.
The NYPA, are negligent dam owners, and we have told them it's
no longer acceptable to leave Erie Neighbors at risk of flood,
because a few misguided individuals on Facebook can't understand
the problems with canal dams, the processes to remedy problems &
overall NY State Dam Safety guidelines.
As for my own absence, my wife & I have have moved away from the
Erie Canal channel, away from living in a neighborhood of
Facebook members who deny reality, and away from living below an
18' tall Canal Embankment Dam.
We don't talk about "trees" anymore, unless it's to mention the
eagles perched in them.
And we don't worry about the minks, muskrats, and beavers living
along the waterway, as there are no unsafe earthen dams being
left to collapse from "missed maintenance & inspection".
We now are able to look DOWN at the water, from our new home,
situated along a "non-canal" portion of the Seneca River.
The people living around here are NORMAL, they support any work
to make the Erie Canal safe, and when they heard I was from
Rochester, they asked if I knew any of those "idiots" trying to
stop the repair of the Erie Canal, those "social misfits on
social media" as they put it. They were glad to hear I was "on
the right side" of Erie Canal Integrity
In our NEW neighborhood, the main Erie Canal channel is about 1
mile or so away, part of the Seneca River cut, but even more
fascinating, we are now part of several Towns & Villages that
were "victims" of the new & wonderful NYS Barge Canal, built in
1905-1926.
Our mail goes to Port Byron, home of the Erie Canal Museum at
the Samuel Center for Erie Canal History
HTML https://www.facebook.com/CSNYS/
HTML https://auburnpub.com/lifestyles/state-canal-society-buys-port-byron-church-opening-history-center-there/article_8043cf64-9e37-5018-9fce-36d3bffea822.html
And we frequent the Village of Weedsport a bit, for stores,
restaurants and banking. Cooks Restaurant is a landmark, along
with Arnolds, and the closest larger bank is in Weedsport, along
with ACE hardware.
If you didn't know it, BOTH of these original Erie Canal
villages were "bypassed" when the last Erie Canal enlargement
occurred and the result was the Erie/Barge Canal of today. These
are two of many original Erie villages that were suddenly not
part of the Barge Canal update, as they were too far away from
the rivers that the Canal Corporation wanted to utilize for
canal traffic. Sadly that expected Erie Canal traffic, and these
forgotten villages would never recover.
Left behind from that Erie Canal "progress" are the remnants of
two villages, who have lost population & vital resources, when
they became "ports without a canal".
But also left behind was the ORIGINAL Erie Canal, you know the
one... mule named Sal, blah blah blah low bridge... THAT canal!
It's all over this area living in obscurity next to roads like
East Dock Street, West Dock, Canal & River streets. As you can
see by the picture below the original canal is mainly a
neglected ditch in many places, overgrown and almost
indistinguishable except for the road signs to point it out.
This section is right in the Village, behind a grocery store
named Ed & Jeans Market at the end of East Dock St.
[attachimg=1]
Looks like a national treasure huh?
Sadly the history of the Erie Canal isn't all charming,
especially when you see how removing a village from Erie Canal
"Porthood" would be so devastating years later. But I guess we
chalk that up to "progress", but not progress for all.
But do not despair, there is a happy story here. In fact there
is actually a working section of the original Erie Canal that
runs between Port Byron & Weedsport... and it's semi-maintained.
It also has a rich history, as evident by the historic plaques &
signage.
Note the sign about LEASHING your dogs on the Empire Trail...
required in NYS, by the Canal Corporation, and contrary to what
some local Facebook groups have stated. Leash you pet please, if
you use the Empire Trail system, there is no truth that "dogs on
voice command" are ok to roam free with their owners along the
canal trailway. Just another FFF - Facebook Fake Fact
[attachimg=2]
Here's a nice view of the old Erie as it moves east to
Weedsport, it's about 2-3 miles until the trail hits the
Centerpoint Aqueduct, the water feeding this two mile section of
original Erie Canal comes from Cold Brook, at the Aqueduct.
[attachimg=3]
HTML https://cnyhiking.com/OldErieCanalPortByronToWeedsport.htm
As you can see it's the "narrow" version of the Erie, maybe only
40' wide, might be 60 feet. It was frozen over still, and the
amazing part, you can walk right to the middle of the channel
and take a nice photo like the one below.
But it's also the western end of the Erie, for this old section.
A four foot tall embankment has sealed off the end of the
waterway, and the water level in the channel is maintained at
the Weedsport Aqueduct end with a spillway.
[attachimg=4]
And finally, this may be the ONLY spot on the entire Erie Canal
system, that ANYONE can go and have a picnic lunch while sitting
on the BOTTOM of the Erie Canal. There is a park in Port Byron,
Schasel Park, where the old Erie Canal was turned into a newer,
park, playground & picnic area. If you look at the picture below
you can see the two sides of the canal prism, only about four to
five feet high, on either side of the park. towpath extends
along the right side of the park.
[attachimg=5]
This is our new neighborhood, and our new neighbors enjoy both a
rich history of the Erie Canal of bygone days along with the new
Barge Canal waterway that centers on the many rivers, streams
and creeks throughout central NY.
And trees are NOT the number one problem along the NYS Canal
System here, though many residents welcome the clearing of
trees, especially those that fall into the waterway. The bigger
issue here is canal FLOODING, as this area is the confluence of
three Finger Lakes, and their outlet streams, along with the
Seneca, Cayuga, and Oswego Rivers. It is not uncommon to see the
Erie Canal / Seneca River rise by a foot or more overnight, then
drop 6-8 inches almost as quickly as it filled.
An that is the lesson for today folks... it's a different Erie
Canal, depending on where you live. The issues seen by Erie
Neighbors could be unsafe embankments, covered with invasive
wood vegetation, or it could be a section of canal that sees
millions of gallons of water rising and falling with the
slightest precipitation, literally hundreds of miles away.
But one common thread winds through these neighborhoods, the
people most affected by Erie Canal Extremes want a SAFE &
SUSTAINABLE canal system, and the key word is safe.
By the way: there is no tolerance for anyone, or any group, who
would deny obvious safety issues along the Erie waterway, like
too much water, and too many trees, both falling into a canal
system that is better off without them. Think about it... and if
you get a chance, come to Port Byron and see the REAL ERIE
CANAL.
Additional Links:
GOOGLE MAP LOCATION: Schasel Park
HTML https://goo.gl/maps/NGLpL2GVvRYRNj9K9
GOOGLE MAP LOCATION: Centerpoint Aqueduct
HTML https://goo.gl/maps/EXKAcKzgtLYj9TXB7
HTML https://townbrutus.digitaltowpath.org
:10148/content/Parks/View/2
#Post#: 2391--------------------------------------------------
Re: A Search for the Erie Canal of Yesterday Continues...
Welcome to Weedsport
DIR By: Doug K
Date: March 6, 2023, 1:53 pm
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I finally had a chance (in between snow storms) to visit the
other end of that original Erie Canal channel we left in Port
Byron at Schasel Park.
It's another nice Canal park just outside the west limit of
Weedsport Village, a place called Aqueduct Park or Centerpointe
Aqueduct, depending on what Town website you visit. The park is
a look at old time engineering solutions when the Erie Canal
travelled "overhead" of many streams & rivers it crossed on it's
journey East to West.
[attachimg=1]
HTML https://townbrutus.digitaltowpath.org
:10148/content/Parks/View/2
It's a very nice place to visit, and the stretch of towpath from
Port Byron, to Centerpointe is a leisurely 2.2 mile walk or
ride. And it's one of the few remaining places that shows just
how far the NYS Erie/Barge Canal System has come in 200 years.
It's very narrow and very shallow, but perhaps that's what made
the Erie Canal so charming way back when.
[attachimg=2]
HTML https://www.google.com/maps/place/Centerport+Aqueduct/@43.0428854,-76.5773276,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x89d753a3860675b1:0x97e45783d0792309!8m2!3d43.0428854!4d-76.5773276!16s%2Fg%2F11gfdyh7m1
Here's a final picture of the Weedsport end of that 1860s
version of the erie Canal, well worth the visit out to Weedsport
to see this original aqueduct stonework.
[attachimg=3]
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